1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a wheel cap provided with a flexible annular molding around a wheel cap body, and particularly relates to a structure for connecting the flexible annular molding to the wheel cap body.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Conventionally, there has been proposed a wheel cap, provided with a flexible annular molding around a wheel cap body for an automobile, which is so designed that the wheel cap is prevented from falling off the wheel of a tire of the automobile if an outer surface of the tire swells or deforms to push the wheel cap outwardly when the tire rides over a curbstone, for example, during driving the car.
The wheel cap has the body whose outer diameter is generally equal to the inner diameter of the tire, and the flexible annular molding which is connected around the periphery of the wheel cap body. According to this structure, it is because the swelling of the outer surface of the tire, under such a situation mentioned above, is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the flexible annular molding that the wheel cap is prevented from falling off the wheel.
The structure for connecting the flexible annular molding to the wheel cap body is shown in FIG. 8. The figure illustrates a situation in which the flexible annular molding 2 is connected around the peripheral edge portion of the disk-shaped wheel cap body 1. The wheel cap body 1 has a plurality of through-holes 1a around the edge portion thereof, although they are not shown in the figure.
The flexible annular molding 2 has a flexible annular molding body 3, and a plurality of engaging legs 4 projecting from the inner surface of the annular body 3. These engaging legs 4 are provided on the inner surface thereof at positions corresponding to those of the through-holes 1a made around the peripheral edge portion of the wheel cap body 1, so that each engaging leg 4 of the flexible annular molding 2 is engaged with each through-hole 1a of the wheel cap boy 1 at time of overlapping the radially inner peripheral edge portion of the molding body 3 onto the radially outer peripheral edge portion of the wheel cap body 1.
Each engaging leg 4 has a proximal part 4a which is engaged with the through-hole 1a of the wheel cap body 1; an intermediate flanging part 4b whose diameter is larger than the diameter of the through-hole 1a; and a distal portion 4c whose diameter is smaller than the diameter of the through-hole 1a.
The flexible annular molding 2 is connected around the peripheral edge portion of the wheel cap body 1 as follows: that is, firstly, the flexible annular molding body 3 is overlapped onto the peripheral edge portion of the wheel cap body 1 so that each engaging leg 4 of the flexible molding body 3 is inserted into each corresponding through-hole 1a of the wheel cap body 1, as shown in FIG. 9. After the insertion of the distal part 4c of each leg 4 into the through-hole 1a is accomplished, the distal part 4c thereof is pulled out of the through-hole 1a of the wheel cap body 1 inward by means of, for example, a nipper, until the intermediate flanging part 4b of the engaging portion 4 completely comes out of the through-hole 1a thereof. At this moment, the intermediate flanging part 4b is restored to its original shape to be engaged with the inner surface of the wheel cap body 1, thus the work to connect the flexible annular molding 2 to the wheel cap body 1 being completed, as shown in FIG. 8.
As mentioned above, although the diameter of the intermediate flanging part 4b of the engaging leg 4 is larger than the diameter of the through-hole 1a of the wheel cap body 1, the intermediate part 4b of the engaging leg 4 can be passed inside the through-hole 1a as shown in FIG. 9, because the intermediate flanging part 4b of the engaging leg 4 has its own flexibility by which it can be deformed.
The greater the ratio of the outer diameter of the intermediate flanging part 4b to the inner diameter of the through-hole 1a of the wheel cap body 1, the more desirable, because, with this structure, the strength for keeping the flexible annular molding 2 being connected to the wheel cap body 1 gets larger. The work to connect the flexible annular molding 2 to the wheel cap body 1 is, however, harder to carry out, if the ratio of one to the other is greater, because the intermediate flanging part 4b must be more forcibly passed through the through-hole 1a of the wheel cap body 1 with the flanging part 4b being compressedly flexed against the inner surface of the through-hole 1a thereof, as shown in FIG. 9.
In order to solve this problem, another type of a flexible annular molding 2 used with the wheel cap body 1 has been proposed. This type of the flexible annular molding 2 is illustrated in FIG. 10. As shown in the figure, the intermediate flanging part 4b of the engaging leg 4 is modified in such a way that a large part thereof, more specifically, a large part of the radially inward portion thereof, is omitted or cut away in order to make the diameter of the intermediate flanging part 4b smaller for the purpose of making the work to insert the intermediate flanging part 4b into the through-hole 1a easier.
With this construction, however, it goes without saying that the flexible molding 2 is more liable to drop off the wheel cap body 1 during driving the car, because of a shortage of strength for keeping the engaging leg 4 of the flexible annular molding 2 being connected to the wheel cap body 1.